Samsung ordered to pay up in smartphone battle with Apple

Managing IP is part of Legal Benchmarking Limited, 1-2 Paris Gardens, London, SE1 8ND

Copyright © Legal Benchmarking Limited and its affiliated companies 2026

Accessibility | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Modern Slavery Statement

Samsung ordered to pay up in smartphone battle with Apple

Judge Lucy Koh has upheld Apple's $1 billion jury verdict against Samsung, but spared Samsung treble damages for wilful infringement

In four orders delivered late Tuesday night, Koh said that a California jury's August verdict stands, but that Apple failed to prove that Samsung's infringement of its utility and design patents was intentional.

Apple had asked Koh to award an additional $400 million for wilful infringement to compensate for its loss of market share going forward.

But Koh said that Apple's arguments were "inconsistent". 

She wrote: "First, [Apple argues] that money cannot compensate Apple for the harm its lost market share may cause going forward, and second, that the Court should award $400 million to compensate Apple for lost market share. If an amount cannot be calculated to compensate for this loss, then it is unclear why $400 million would be an appropriate award."

Ars Technica author Joe Mullin said that Koh's order shows an attempt to limit the "crushing" effects of Apple's victory.

All four orders are available on Ars Technica. The decision is likely to be appealed.

Apple and Samsung are also battling in Japan over Samsung's August win in the Tokyo District Court.

more from across site and SHARED ros bottom lb

More from across our site

Barry Greenbaum, partner at Olshan Frome Wolosky, explains how in-house teams can update their approach to brand development, and where AI can add value
Christine Chiramel, who joins a full-service law firm after 17 years of working at specialist firms, says she’s excited to explore how corporate commercial issues are blurring into IP
Practitioners say increasing the pecuniary jurisdiction of India’s most popular litigation forum to around $2 million would spark unpredictability and make it difficult for SMEs to benefit
The Spain-based firm has appointed an industry veteran to lead the group, which it hopes will strengthen its ability to support clients in ‘disruptive technologies’
Shaina Haria, a final-seat trainee at an international law firm’s UK office, shares how she fell in love with IP and why the area of law has changed the way she views the world
Now in its sixth edition, the IP Case Law Conference was focussed on the notion of ‘growing through change’
Nick Redfearn and Khanh Nguyen of Rouse discuss Vietnam’s latest identification in the 2026 Special 301 Report and how the country is taking genuine steps to meet US expectations
Tatiana Campello reflects on 30 years of practising at the firm, and urges women IP attorneys to think beyond the day-to-day
A David v Goliath battle involving TikTok, and Via Licensing Alliance adding new members to its Voice Codec patent pool, were also among the top talking points
Latham & Watkins bolstered its IP litigation bench in California with the addition of Kieran Kieckhefer, as partner demand for trial-ready expertise shows no sign of slowing
Gift this article